Gold and silver from pulver



MPETERS, PHOT0-UTHUGRAPHER, WASHINGTUN. D. C.

@mit Chiti-rr.

EDWARD A. HYDE, OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

Letters Patent No. 99,571, dated February f8, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN' APPARATUS POR SEPARATING- GOLD AND. SILVER FROM PULVER-- IZED QUARTZ.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom Muay concern l :Be it known that I', EDWARD A. HYDE, of Ann Arbor, in the county of Washtenaw, and State of Michigan, have invented a new and improved Mode of Separating Gold and Silver from Pulverized Quartz; and l do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and tothe letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification,in which- Figure Il is a perspective view of the entire apparatus, except the machinery for running it.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the same.

Figure 3 isa perspective e'nd view of the feedingapparatus, showing how the same sits over the end of the cylinder which contains the lead, making one of its heads.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the same.

Figure 5 is a perspective inside view of the cylinder C. when made of iron.

Figure 6 is a perspective view, showing my method of lining the cylinder C with lire-bricks of such a pattern as that an inner cylinder, G','is made for the lead, and also a series ot' tlues, Y Y Y, through the bricks, between the lead and the outer cylinder.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the abovementioned fire-bricks.

Figure 8 shows the method by which an endless chain is used as a feedingeapparatus, instead of the device shown in figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4.

lA is the furnace.

B, the cindersbox.

C, the outer cylinder.

C', the cylinder which contains the lead.

D, the feeding-head E, the waste-head.

F, the feeding-apparatus.

G,.the smoke-stack.

H, partitions between the out-er and inner cylinder, dividing the space between them 4into tluesleading from A to B. v

w 'w ww are these ilues.

I'J are sockets, bolted to the heads K L, and serve as supports for the cylinder C.

M, the cog-wheel, by which the cylinder is rotated.

N, cog-wheels, (in fig. 3 by dotted lines,) which rotate the feeders O.

P, parallel vanes, running along the inner surface of C', attached to it, or separate.

Q, flanges, by which the heads D and E are bolted to A and B.

R, a support for the cinder-box.

S, doors.

T, the hopper. y

U, sliding eccentric arms, which force the pnlverized quartz down the channelsVinto the lead, which rises as high in the heads E and D, as indicated by the dotted shading near the letters V and g in tig. 2.

lV, a brace, running down from D, and bolted to L.

X, grooves, iii the heads I) and E, into which the ends of the cylinder C set.

Z, grooves around the cylinder` C, into which screws are set, fastening A and B to the cylinder.

a b c d cfg, and the zigzag line from c to g, repre.

sent the course'of the pulverized quartz in passing through the lead as the cylinder revolves.

Y, fines through the iire-bricks.

H', the dre-bricks, ofthe pattern shown in tig., 7.

m m represent one of the two spouts in which the endless chain n n runs, passing over the wheel o.

. This chain has floats or pistons at regular intervals, which carry the quartz down into the lead in C'. The spout, in which the chain returns, (not shown in lig, 8,) has `a larger bore than the other,so as to allow the lead to dow od' from the pistons, and not be carried up to the hopper. 'lhe wheel o has the prongs or forks r rr to `hold the chain in place.

,In iig. 2, the dotted lines t t t, through the centre of C', represent the shaftby which the' vanes P are rotated, vwhen the inclined cylinder is made to be stationary. p

The cylinder linedV with fire-brick, as. in figs. 6 and 7 is intended for use when the quartz or ores contain chemical elements which would' be destructive to the inner iron cylinder C.

The operation of my invention .is as follows:

Blocks of lead -having been introduced into, C', through E, a lire is' built in A. When the cylinder C and heads D and E have become as full of melted lead as indicated in tig. 2, the cylinder C is made to revolve bymeans of gearing connected with the' wheel M. At the same time the wheels N are rotated by the same power that rotates M.

Now, let a stream ofthe pulverized quartz into the hopper T, and the quartz will be forced down the channels V by the arms U. As the qluartz collects at the bottom ot'V, it will be taken bythe vanes P, and carried by them around to the bottom of the cylinder, z'. e., froml a to b. When arrived at b, the specilic gravity of the quartz being less than that ofthe lead, it willrise perpendicular-155,31* lto the point c, because my cylinder is inclined at an angle of about twelve degrees. -From c it will pass around again to I, and then up again to e, and so on to g, and nally out of the lead through It will be seen that by this means, with a cylinder of lead only one foot in diameter, and three feet Iin length, the quartz is made-to pass through a distance of about seventeen feet of melted lead. By regulating the rate at which my cylinder revolves, the quartz will remain in the lead a .longer or shorter time, as maybe desired. The quantity of quartz introduced is also regulated at pleasure. v

The atmosphere is excluded from the lead, because the surface in D and E is covered with the quartz. If

` necessary, a streamof water may be directed upon the outside of the cylinder G, so as' to-keep thetemthel quartz is carried down through the spout by the.

floats' or pistons, andliberated as soon as the lowest point of the curve is reached. The wheel o has its outer edge rounded, so as to allow the quartz to rise freely. The chain iscarried by a forked wheel above the hopper.

Still another method of making the quartz pass through the lead in the inc-lined cylinder, is to rotate the vanes P byfmeans of a shaft running through the centre of C', leaving the cylinder stationary. This shaft has bearingsY in the heads D and E, and passes out through the cinder-box B, as shown by the dotted lines t t't 1. in iig. 2.

Again,V the cylinder maybe used inclined or horizontally, with a rotating spiral vane or screw, instead of the vanes P, the cylinder being stationary. An inclined rotating cylinder' willl work without either vane.; or screw.

Again, the cylinder may be inclined or horizontal, and rotated, having attached to its inner surface the threads of a screw, or a spiral vane.

All reference to a screw or spiral vane in this specitication is intended to describe simply the thread of all screwwithout the body, or a vane like one of those marked P in figs. 2, 4, 5, and 6, but longer, and wound spil-ally, making a thread about two inches high, and from three to six inches apart. When the lspiral is rotated separately, it is attached to the shaft t t t. When not, it is fastened to the inner surface of C',.and the shaft is dispensed with.

The operation results in the formation of an amalgam, constantly growing richer and richer by the intimate commingling andactual contact of the lead with every added particle of quartz.

Vlheu the process has been carried on long enough, the lead is drawn off through an opening in the head D, by the introduction ot' a spout or tube throughfthle furnace-door. The separation of the gold or silver .from lthe lead is now an easy matter.

The great advantages of this method are,`jthat the quartz is both kept a long time in the hot lead,'and.- is also being constantly stirred, and div-ided,'and com'- mingled from first to last. s

Other advantages are, that this machine is able to keep the lead at a higher heat, without injury to itself, than any method yet discovered, and will run through tons of quartz, where other processes would fall short of a half ton.

My castings are m-ade heavy, and are annealed. Wrought-iron can also be used inthe manufacture of every part.

1t' necessary, the heads D and E may be surrounded with ajacket, with water between the head and jacket to prevent sagging by overheating.

The different modes of constructing and operating the cylinder C C O', are as follows:

Inclined and rotating, with vanes attached. Inclinedor horizontal and rotating, with screw attached Inclined and rotating, without vanes or screw.

Inclined and stationary, with vanes rotating.

Inclined and stationary, with screw rotating.

Horizont-al and stationary, with screw rotating..

All the foregoing modes are practicable, both when .the cylinder is mjade entirely of metal, and also when an outer cylinderbf metal, lined with tire-brick, is used.

This same apparatus may be used with hot mercnry instead of lead, by tightly connecting the Ywastehead E with a large iron tank, in such a manner as that the waste quartz will readily flow int-o the tank.

This tank must be tight, so that there will be no waste of mercury by vaporizing.

uThere must also be a condensing-pipe ruiming from the head E, and terminating in acoil immersed in cold water,'to conduct oli` the vapor, and prevent explosion.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, iss l. The rcylinder C C C', constructed as described, in combination with the heads D audE, substantially as set forth'. v

2. In combination with the cylinder C C C', the feeding-apparatus, containing the wheels O O, with eccentric sliding arms U U, substantially as and for.

the purpose described.

3. In combination with the cylinder C C C', the feeding-appalatus, containing the endless chain with iioats or pistons, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4'. In combination with the cylinder C C, theiirebrick H', substantially as set forth.

. EDWARD A. HYDE.

Witnesses: W. J. ERDMAN, Grao. L. WEED,-Jr. 

